First of all, I'm new to all this. I recently applied mud to the corners and did some texturing in my basement. Two days later I notice there are cracks in some places. Why is this happening and what should I do about it?
UPDATE: Putting it on too thick was definitely what happened. I was just slathering it on like no ones business. Lesson learned...
"Why is this happening?"
"what should I do about it?"
Drywall compound shrinks as it dries, so if applied thick or if it has too much water it will crack. A few cracks on the first coat are ok since later coats will fill the cracks.
From the image it appears the first coat here is much thicker than needed. Excess mud on any layer will just mean more work and more sanding later. Ideally the first coat should be just thick enough to cover the tape and the tape should be tight to the surface (or even below it when the joint is over two tapered edges. Avoid butting tapered and non-tapered edges together as the different heights makes it a lot trickier.)
What are you mudding? It looks like cement board it doesn't look like drywall or green back. The cracking is from too much humidity. Place some industrial fans around to circulate the air.
Your inside corners are slightly too thick but shouldn't be an issue to cause the cracking. This is coming from a drywaller that has seen some disastrous DIY home owner jobs.
Inside Corners and Angles are always the worst for holding in the moisture to cause cracking and are always the last to dry. You need air circulation to help the drying process.
Different rooms have more humidity than others especially in a basement. Small rooms you can feel it more so than bigger open areas such as a entertainment room or rumpus area.
There's lots of different factors at play but it all ends with humidity.
